Straydog UPDATE posted SATURDAY 10/4/03 at ~8:47 p.m. CT

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

SATURDAY OCTOBER 4 2003

Erin reports ...

Chubs and Cassie go for their second home visit

     Chubs and Cassie get very excited in the late afternoon when we walk by their kennel. They know that Jana and Charlie will be visiting OR that we will be taking them to Jana and Charlie's home! Last night was our 2nd home visit. Cassie got to swim in the pond with the Harris's other dogs, Milo, Nick and Summer. Cassie even followed the other labs' cue and did a lot of big splashing while getting from water's edge into water deep enough to swim in! Chubbie drank from the pond and waded in it a little bit. "The Blind Man", as Charlie lovingly called him last night, was just a little timid at the pond's edge. Maybe on Tuesday (our next scheduled visit) he will also decide to swim! We know that Chubs and Cassie love it at the Harris's home and that they will be wonderful guardians for my mom's Labs. Jana and Charlie mentioned that they are looking into a hoop dealie that can hook onto Chubbie's harness, so that if he bumps into things while learning the map of the house and yard, it will be the hoop that bumps into something and not Chubs!

[Pics from our first visit when Pop can get to them]

Adoption Day in downtown Dallas

     We took Amigo, Daisy, Penny and Scooter to a special adoption opportunity in a grassy area by the City Hall in downtown Dallas. Now Daisy has a potential home with a very nice couple who have a young child. They liked Daisy's gentle demeanor around their child. We will have to schedule a time to do a home visit for this family and also for the lady who lives in Arlington, who is patiently waiting to adopt Mandy!

     We learned something very cute about Daisy's hunting personality. She really likes to stalk birds. (Daisy is a six-year-old English Setter, who are bird dogs.) She worked very hard at keeping very still watching the pigeons that people were feeding. We have pictures of her on Consuelo's camera, which we may be able to put on the Internet at a later date.

     Penny and Scooter very much enjoyed their outing in Dallas today. They were so good. Penny and Scooter will be good with families who have children too. They are very gentle dogs. Scooter loves Penny so much that these two just can't be separated. Scooter even got very anxious when Penny was the first one to be put back in the van. He jumped up into the van and wanted to go in the same crate that Penny was in.

     Claire volunteered today and has a strategy to try to get the dogs homes more quickly. She mingles with the crowd to give our dogs (with their cute "Adopt Me" bandanas) an even better chance of being seen. Claire did meet a lady at one of the booths who loved Amigo, but the woman doesn't know if they are ready to adopt another dog so soon after their dog's death. Also Amigo stood on the sidewalk watching the parade of people coming by.


[Picture to come maybe--the battery was dying!]

     No matter what comes Amigo's way regarding an adoption from today, he did have a good time getting his tummy rubbed in the sun, eating the cookies the volunteers gave him, walking around the grassy area, chewing up stuffy toys and ripping the towels in his crate in the van into tiny pieces during the drive to Dallas!